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Is Royce Global Financial Services Service Class (RYFSX) a Strong Mutual Fund Pick Right Now?

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There are plenty of choices in the Mutual Fund Equity Report category, but where should you start your research? Well, one fund that may not be worth investigating is Royce Global Financial Services Service Class . RYFSX has a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on various forecasting factors like size, cost, and past performance.

History of Fund/Manager

Royce Funds is based in New York, NY, and is the manager of RYFSX. Since Royce Global Financial Services Service Class made its debut in January of 2004, RYFSX has garnered more than $17.91 million in assets. The fund's current manager, Charles M. Royce, has been in charge of the fund since January of 2004.

Performance

Of course, investors look for strong performance in funds. This fund carries a 5-year annualized total return of 2.31%, and is in the middle third among its category peers. But if you are looking for a shorter time frame, it is also worth looking at its 3-year annualized total return of 6.84%, which places it in the bottom third during this time-frame.

When looking at a fund's performance, it is also important to note the standard deviation of the returns. The lower the standard deviation, the less volatility the fund experiences. RYFSX's standard deviation over the past three years is 18.25% compared to the category average of 22.36%. The fund's standard deviation over the past 5 years is 21.12% compared to the category average of 19.78%. This makes the fund more volatile than its peers over the past half-decade.

Risk Factors

Investors should note that the fund has a 5-year beta of 1.02, so it is likely going to be as volatile as the market at large. Another factor to consider is alpha, as it reflects a portfolio's performance on a risk-adjusted basis relative to a benchmark-in this case, the S&P 500. Over the past 5 years, the fund has a negative alpha of -7.59. This means that managers in this portfolio find it difficult to pick securities that generate better-than-benchmark returns.

Expenses

Costs are increasingly important for mutual fund investing, and particularly as competition heats up in this market. And all things being equal, a lower cost product will outperform its otherwise identical counterpart, so taking a closer look at these metrics is key for investors. In terms of fees, RYFSX is a no load fund. It has an expense ratio of 1.49% compared to the category average of 1.50%. Looking at the fund from a cost perspective, RYFSX is actually cheaper than its peers.

This fund requires a minimum initial investment of $2,000, and each subsequent investment should be at least $50.

Bottom Line

Overall, Royce Global Financial Services Service Class ( RYFSX ) has a low Zacks Mutual Fund rank, and in conjunction with its comparatively similar performance, average downside risk, and lower fees, Royce Global Financial Services Service Class ( RYFSX ) looks like a somewhat weak choice for investors right now.

This could just be the start of your research on RYFSXin the Mutual Fund Equity Report category. Consider going to www.zacks.com/funds/mutual-funds for additional information about this fund, and all the others that we rank as well for additional information. Zacks provides a full suite of tools to help you analyze your portfolio - both funds and stocks - in the most efficient way possible.

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